In which Melanie and Sue read and review Newbery Award and Honor books.
If you have any thoughts or opinions, feel free to comment and we'll respond!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo

I'm giving this one a poetry tag even though it's not strictly poetry. It's a collection of short stories and whimsical poems that take place in many places and times. Think "The Book of Virtues", but the stories are generally longer. Characters of all races are equally picked on, and there isn't any overt racism, just fun. The book itself is very large, and would be great to read aloud to a child.

Many thanks to the Bangor Public Library for the interlibrary loan. Many of my requests are routed from there and I can't help but think that if they'd hired me when I applied, they wouldn't have to keep mailing books to me ;)

And I wouldn't have met my husband or enjoyed warmer autumns and winters :)

The book *is* a lot of fun! In the chapter named in the book's title, there is a silhouette illustration on each page, accented with Chinese characters. I made a photocopy of the chapter so I can ask some one who speaks Chinese if they really say anything, or are merely decorative characters!